Dissertation Books I couldn't Live without ...

I own and have read dozens of 'how-to' books on the PhD process. The ones below are my pick of them all- they all bring something unique to the table and offer advice on everything from dealing with your advisor, procrastination and mental blocks, scheduling, planning and managing your time and resources and getting the writing DONE. I cannot recommend them highly enough. 

Home page ...

This is the main page for my research site - on here I keep my Google Calendar, recent writing, my research journal/blog and other ephemera generated during my PhD journey. The site is really a tool for me to reflect on my progress, ideas & writing & to have a space to collect useful links, rant & upload files to.  

I started a PhD a few years ago when I wrote & defended a proposal & was on my way when life interfered & I withdrew. I completed a Dip Ed & have been teaching secondary school since then - this is my 3rd year as a high school teacher. 

The unfinished degree has been in the back of my mind for a while now but I have been too busy with work to address it. But, the time has come where it's a matter of dive in & commit to teaching completely or, go & finish what I started & see where it takes me. I am choosing the latter. 

I am (re)entering as a mature(r)-age candidate & that has both pros & cons. My goal is to either go back to academia full-time or, get a position in a school that has a progressive media course. I have experience in both areas so I am not trying to break into a new profession & I am hopeful that my age & experience/s will be seen as a positive thing. However, that issue is a while away yet. For now the focus is on getting the project underway & coping with working full-time and studying as well. I am very good at immersing myself in something to the exclusion of everything else & this is great for the degree, but obviously I need to manage my teaching as well. I am also very good at procrastinating - finding a productive medium is the short-term goal - managing the research without letting it interfere with my job and doing my job without letting it exhaust me so that I don't have the energy for the research!

I am working in the area of Cultural Studies in Western Australia. If you would like to drop me a line .. you can do so - here.

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Bart & Marge on Grad Students ....

12 Hours of 'White Noise' courtesy of Youtube - excellent to drown out noise while trying to concentrate

I live a street away from this beach - it's winter at the moment & it was a beautiful day when I took this

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Links

Phinished is great forum for PhD candidates .. lots of tips, advice & support

My original blog started here

Need something to take your mind of your dissertation? Try PhD Comics

The Thesis Whisperer - blog

Write That Journal Article in 7 Days 

A fantastic Article on using Circus Ponies Notebook to organise a thesis - this site has stacks of great information for anyone interested in how best to write & manage a thesis. 

The 3-Months Thesis - A Short Guide to Writing Fast - link to PDF here

Cultural Studies Scholar Tara Brabazon - one of the most organised and productive academics I have ever known of .. check out her qualifications - the woman is amazing! - she has some great podcasts on a variety of stuff from popular culture to thesis writing

A great blog for would-be scholars - 'Portrait of a Supposed Scholar'

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3 Useful Clips from the man who bought us the 'Three Month Thesis (if you're a scientist that is - the rest of us will need to content ourselves with the three-year-literature-search followed by the three-year-thesis). But, there is some useful info on clips 1 & 2 - 3 is basically a Q & A. 

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